Woronora River

Woronora
Woronora River
NASA satellite view of Greater Metropolitan Sydney, with the location of the mouth of the Woronora River, as marked
Etymology	Aboriginal (Dharug): "black rocks"[1]
Location
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
Region	Greater Metropolitan Sydney
LGA	Sutherland Shire
Physical characteristics
Source	Illawarra escarpment
2nd source	Waratah Rivulet
• location	near Darkes Forest
• coordinates	34°23′17″S 150°54′18″E / 34.38806°S 150.90500°E / -34.38806; 150.90500
• elevation	353 m (1,158 ft)
Mouth	confluence with the Georges River
• location	between Como and Illawong
• coordinates	33°59′40″S 151°4′3″E / 33.99444°S 151.06750°E / -33.99444; 151.06750
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	36 km (22 mi)
Basin size	174 km2 (67 sq mi)
Basin features
River system	Georges River catchment
Tributaries
• left	Still Creek (New South Wales)
• right	Heathcote Creek, Forbes Creek (New South Wales)
Dam	Woronora (1941)
[2]

The Woronora River is a perennial river of the Sydney Basin, located in the Sutherland Shire local government area of Greater Metropolitan Sydney, approximately 22 kilometres (14 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in New South Wales, Australia.

'Woronora' is an Aboriginal place name. Records show the spelling of the name has varied since it first appeared in the 19th century, the earliest being Wooloonora (Dixon, 1827, quoted in Walker 1974:66, followed by Wolonora (Dixon, 1837, and Woronora Mitchell, 1835). The name was first applied to the Woronora River, a tributary of the Georges River, before being given to an electoral district, a local road east of the river, and finally the suburb itself.

The Woronora River rises on the northwestern slopes of the Illawarra escarpment and has its origin from Waratah Rivulet, near Darkes Forest, and flows generally north for approximately 36 kilometres (22 mi), joined by three minor tributaries, before reaching its confluence with the Georges River, between Como and Illawong.